A subsea well of the type concerned herein will have a wellhead supported on the subsea floor. Casing hanger running tools perform many functions such as running and landing casing strings, cementing strings into place, and installing and testing packoffs. One or more strings of casing will be lowered into the wellhead from the surface, each supported on a casing hanger. The casing hanger is a tubular member that is secured to the threaded upper end of the string of casing. The casing hanger lands on a landing shoulder in the wellhead, or on a previously installed casing hanger having larger diameter casing. Cement is pumped down the string of casing to flow back up the annulus around the string of casing. Afterward, a packoff is positioned between the wellhead bore and an upper portion of the casing hanger. This seals the casing hanger annulus.
Once a packoff is set, it is often tested by applying fluid pressure to an upper side of the packoff. If the packoff has not been properly set, fluid pressure may leak past the annulus packoff, causing the casing to collapse. On rare occasions, the packoff may be unable to pass the pressure test, possibly due to damage on the interior wall of the wellhead housing. If so, one remedy is to install an emergency or bridging hanger in the wellhead housing. The bridging hanger does not support a string of casing, but has an interior profile that is normally the same as the profile in the casing hanger. The operator lands and seals the lower portion of the bridging hanger to the casing hanger. The operator installs a packoff between the upper exterior portion of the bridging hanger and the wellhead housing above the casing hanger. The operator then runs the tubing and lands and seals the tubing hanger in the bridging hanger.
In the prior art, a running tool would land and seal the bridging hanger to the casing hanger in one trip, and then install a packoff between the bridging hanger and the wellhead housing in another trip. A need exists for a technique that allows the running tool to land and seal the bridging hanger to the casing hanger and install a packoff in the same trip. The following technique may solve one or more of these problems.